While the Dragon Ball series of games has largely been dominated by fighting games, there have been a number of RPG games or games with significant RPG elements that do an excellent job of telling Goku’s legendary story.
These games span almost every machine that can play games with some mobile games that do surprisingly well against console competitors. It should also be noted that while there are a number of great Japanese-language-only games, this list will only include those that had North American releases in English.
10 Dragon Ball Origins 2
Released for the Nintendo DS, Dragon Ball Origins 2 was a good game that unfortunately failed to go beyond what the first game did, and that's why it ranks lower.
Players can choose to go through the story as Goku, Bulma, Krillin, and Yamcha. Gameplay consisted of platforming, fighting, and puzzle solving their way through the Red Ribbon Army and Fortuneteller Baba sagas. The player could upgrade their characters using Power Up Scrolls that granted access to abilities like Power Pole Kick. It was a good game, but it didn’t try anything new and felt like a rushed sequel.
9 Dragon Ball Origins
Dragon Ball Origins was also released for the Nintendo DS and was a solid game that was hard to surpass with a sequel. Unlike most Dragon Ball games, this one covers the story from Goku’s childhood days—namely, the Emperor Pilaf and Tournament sagas.
Unlike the sequel, this game only allowed players to go through the story as Goku, with Bulma accompanying and assisting in battle. While there were a few changes to the original story, they were minor and not related to major plot points, which is a rarity in Dragon Ball games.
8 Dragon Ball Xenoverse
While it could be argued that Dragon Ball Xenoverse is more of a fighting MMO rather than an RPG, there are enough RPG elements to justify its inclusion on this list. The player is able to create their own character using races like Saiyans or Majin that have their own perks and abilities.
Each battle grants experience which can be used to level up and players seek out mentors to learn new skills and abilities. The only downside to this incredible game was the brutal grind to progress that made it feel more like work than fun at times.
7 Dragon Ball GT Transformation
This is likely a controversial inclusion, given it focuses on the Dragon Ball GT series, but it’s a good enough game. Released for the Game Boy Advance, it sees Goku and the gang fighting through the Tuffle Saga with the last boss of the game being Golden Great Ape Baby Vegeta.
Say what you will about the Dragon Ball GT story, but this was a fun game that gave players a break from the familiar Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z stories that have been told over and over again. It was also a lot of fun tromping around as Golden Great Ape Goku in the Story Mode.
6 Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors
Don’t let the games simplistic Game Boy Color sprites fool you—this is a deep game that does what few games have done since. It tells the entire Dragon Ball Z saga from the moment Raditz sets foot on Earth to when Kid Buu is obliterated by the spirit bomb.
The player can play as more than two dozen characters from the entire story, and once the story mode is beaten, they can go back and play as anyone they want. This game doesn’t rank higher because of the limitations of the Game Boy Color, but it was an incredible game for the technology it had to work with.
5 Dragon Ball Z: Buu’s Fury
A follow-up to Legacy Of Goku II, Buu’s Fury is a great game for the Game Boy Advance that covers primarily the Majin Buu saga. The gameplay is simple but well done with lots of strategy and timing to make for a great fighting game. There are also a number of RPG elements like collecting items that can be used to improve the character’s power and gain experience.
There was also the fun trophy hunting side missions that had you complete the Hercule and Z-Fighter Exhibits for 100% completion. While not as good as Legacy of Goku II, it was a good entry to the series that was still a good game.
4 Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
After players criticized Dragon Ball Xenoverse for its heavy grind, the developers from Dimps paid attention and delivered a sequel. Admittedly, it feels like more of an add-on than a true sequel, but it did everything right that players were wanting and became a very fun game people could get into.
Players can now fly in the Hub, new characters and bosses were added, and it has a story that changes and morphs based on the decisions made by the player make for an incredible experience. Players could also port over their characters from the first game and pick up right where they left off.
3
With how bad Legacy Of Goku was, it’s a miracle that Legacy Of Goku II was even made. But it’s a good thing it was because it’s one of the best Dragon Ball RPG games out there. With quality of life improvements like HP indicators and stats that can be raised and modified, it added many RPG elements that made it a vast improvement over the first game.
One of the more interesting features was the ability to fight unique characters on side missions not seen in the anime, like King Triceratops.
2 Dragon Ball Fusions
Considered a sort of guilty pleasure by some fans, Dragon Ball Fusions may not have the most interesting storyline, but it has the very fun fusion mechanic. Players can combine various heroes using Ex-Fusion to create some really interesting and wacky character combinations.
Not all heroes can combine, as they follow the same rules of equal power levels to fuse in the anime, but there are some interesting combinations. Those include Beerus and Whis combining to form the powerful Whirus, or Cell and Frieza combining to form Celluza. Players will spend more time hunting down different combinations than playing the story, but that’s not a bad thing by any means.
1 Dragon Ball Z Attack Of The Saiyans
Released for the Nintendo DS, this game, that’s a decade old, is still considered the best Dragon Ball RPG ever made. It gives a great deal of customization to the player’s team of six fighters that can be leveled up and enhanced through skills and side quests.
The only complaint that can be made about this game is that it only covers the Saiyan saga and hasn’t seen a sequel. Given the developer, Monolith Soft, would later go on to develop the wildly successful Xenoblade Chronicles, it’s likely they became distracted by a popular game series that’s still going to this day.